“Whom Do You Love Most?” (John 4:34) I. Introduction. A. Last week – We saw what eternal life is: That you may know God & Son Jesus (John 17:3). Jesus came that you might know

of

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about

,

Him

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know

Him. Goal of your coming to Him, of learning, of knowing, of becoming like Him, Is that you might better know Him By experiencing His power and suffering That you might better love, serve/glorify Him. B. What was Jesus like? What is this image you’re to be growing into? The first thing we’ll look at is His love for His Father: How He loved Him most of all, And served Him with His whole being and life. If you would know Jesus, this is what you must do: 1. You must love God above all, 2. And serve Him with your whole life. II. Sermon. A. Paul says you were predestined to become like Jesus (Rom. 8:29), And part of that image is loving God most of all.

2 1. That’s what Jesus did. This is what He’s always done. Let’s not forget, He is the Son of God from all eternity – Eternally begotten – John calls Him, “The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:18). This means He was loved by Father from all eternity. But it’s also true that He has eternally loved Him in return. They have always delighted in each other. Ill: When you love someone with your whole heart, You want to be with them. You’re thrilled just to spend time with them. They’re all you think about. This kind of love the Father and Son have, Only their love is infinitely strong and has been going on from all eternity. For Edwards, this love and delight they have in each other Is none other than the Holy Spirit. This is how he explains the eternal procession of the Spirit. He is the love of God. We’ll see the importance of this in a moment. 2. The point is: If you know Jesus Christ,

3 If you’re experiencing His life in you, This is the kind of love you have for God (the Father and the Son), And the kind of love you are to be cultivating: You delight in Them, You want to be with Them, You’re excited to be in a relationship with Them, And to spend time with them: They are on your mind constantly, And thrill your heart more than anything else. Do you love Them in this way? If you’ve received their grace and mercy, you do. Jesus, in His high priestly prayer, Prayed that the love with which the Father loved Him, would be in you (John 17:26) – That the Father would put His Spirit in your heart That you might love Them. That’s why you came to Christ in first place: Why you want to spend any time with God at all. Why you want to be with Him at the end of your time here – Because of His Spirit dwelling in you. If you have this love, why isn’t it stronger than it is?